“How’d you know it was me with all this fog!?” Catherine angrily cried in disbelief.

  “I can sense you, stupid.” Drifter responded, unfazed by her outburst.

  “Dammit! There goes the element of surprise!”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just taking my new pets for a walk.”

  “Ew, that’s what you’re into?”

  “Don’t be gross! They’re just lesser demons! I brought them back from the demon world as souvenirs.”

  “Why?”

  “To fight you with!”

  Drifter sighed, fighting Catherine’s pets seemed like a chore. Instead, he chose to go for the more entertaining scenario.

  “Dale! Amanda! Get your arses over here!”

  “Calling your friends!? Too scared to fight them yourself!?”

  “They’re acquaintances and I’m not in the mood to fight your dumb dogs, Cathy.”

  “Sounds like a scared coward making excuses.”

  “What?” Drifter laughed.

  “You’ve probably sensed how much stronger I’ve gotten and don’t have the balls to face me head on.”

  “Have you been ingesting stupid pills?”

  “We’re here.” Amanda answered.

  “Cool. Take care of the jobbers will ya?”

  “Hold on, we need to talk about you and these demons.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “But, what about all the damage you’re causing, the people you've hurt?”

  “I may be a piece of shit, but if this sword ever fell into the wrong hands, it would be thousands of times worse.”

  “Amanda.” Dale interrupted. “You can argue with Drifter later. Let’s just get rid of these guys.”

  The opposing demons were tall and humanoid in shape, but their skin covered their entire body like a thin wrapper. They had no recognisable features. Feet with no toes, giant hammer-like arms with no hands and round, smooth heads with no face or chin to distinguish between their neck and head. Just were grey, sack-like mannequins with jerky movements.

  Dale analysed their body’s. “Those huge gorilla arms seem to be what’s keeping them balanced. That must be their weak spot.” He rushed in, attempting to slice the arm clean off, but a split second before his blade made contact, all the muscle inside the arm disappeared, leaving a limp hanging skin sack.

  Missing his target, Dale stopped in his tracks, looking up at the monster, grossed out and confused. All the mass inside its arm had collapsed into its shoulder, creating a large throbbing lump under its skin.

  Frozen in bewilderment, Dale couldn’t fathom what the creature was trying to do. Pointing its deflated limb at Dale’s face, the mass of innards shot through the arm back into its dumbbell fists, like a balloon rapidly filling with lead, smashing into Dale’s face like a wrecking ball as he flew across the road, crashing into the curb.

  “Neat.” Drifter commented.

  The second grey creature lunged after Amanda. Having witnessed their unorthodox abilities, she quickly took potshots at the lumbering monster, but her bullets didn’t seem to phase it. The shots aimed at the arms bounced off the thick muscle and the monster avoided headshots by simply deflating its skull. Amanda jumped away as the demon threw its arms down, imprinting its fists in the concrete.

  “It deflects bullets and flashbangs won’t work against something that doesn’t have any damn eyes… am I really gonna have to jump straight to using explosives already?” She leapt back and readied her rocket. “Fuck it. Let’s just go all in and see what happens.”

  She took aim and fired. As the rocket drew closer, the creature sent all of its innards into its arms and legs, stretching its empty torso like rubber. The rocket was caught in the fleshy net of skin, and like a slingshot, the creature flung the explosive back to Amanda.

  “What!?”

  She dove to the floor as the rocket flew over her, crashing into Drifter who took the full brunt of its explosive force without even flinching. He didn’t even try to dodge.

  “I thought you said these guys were jobbers!?” Amanda ranted.

  “They are.” Drifter replied.

  “What the hell kind of ‘jobbers’ are you thinking of, boy!?”

  “You know, the usual.”

  “What in God’s name are you talking about!?”

  “Just… find their weakness, okay? This isn’t hard.”

  “Easy for you to say, Mr. Invincible! How am I supposed to do that!?”

  “Stop bitching and figure it out!”

  “I’m not-!”

  A terrifying presence suddenly loomed over Amanda. The monster crept up undetected, with its powerful arms about to hammer down upon her. Amanda felt the hairs on her neck stand up as she instinctively jumped aside, as its arms slammed with enough force to send her flying, landing flat on her chest.

  “Dammit, that hurt… I ain’t no demon. I can’t get tossed around like this all day…”

  She pulled herself up and immediately dodged out of the way of the demon’s follow-up strike. Amanda scrambled to run to the other side of the bridge. The demons were fast, but only in short aggressive bursts, it took some time for them to recover before they could give chase again.

  Meanwhile, the second grey sack of flesh found Dale, crumpled at the edge of the bridge, his face bloodied from the impact. The only thing separating him from a thirty foot drop into the ocean was a small wall just underneath a railing.

  Dale pulled himself together, but could only muster the strength to stand on his knees and watch as the monster’s blank face hung over him. It raised its arm for the finishing blow, which was exactly what Dale hoped for.

  Feigning serious injury, he zoomed under the monster’s fist, evading the hammer.

  “Time for a swim!”

  Before the creature could recover, Dale punched into its back with all his power, hoping to push it into the ocean, but the monster didn’t budge an inch. A sharp pain spread throughout Dale’s hand until it went numb. The bones shattered. It felt like he had just punched solid steel.

  “FUCK! What is this thing!?”

  Without turning around, the creature pooled half of its weight into its leg, using it to balance itself, as the other half went into its arm. With a quick 180 swing, the demon planned on copying Dale’s idea by using its arm to throw him into the water.

  As Dale watched the grotesquely enlarged limb fly towards him, time slowed down, as his mind raced to find a way to stop this seemingly impenetrable monster. That’s when he saw it. The weak point. The flaw in its technique. He immediately ducked under the hammer and jumped aside. With his broken hand still healing he needed full concentration to pull off his counterattack. Now that he understood where its openings lay, his mindset had completely changed.

  Replacing his impulsive and sporadic need to hack and slash at his enemies, was a more focused and deliberate approach. All he had to do was patiently wait for his target to reappear, like a sniper waiting for the perfect shot.

  “Just wait.” He told himself. “Wait for him to come to you. Wait for them to make a move.”

  The demon enlarged its fists again, but Dale paid no attention to them. The fists were not his targets. As soon as they came within an inch of his face, that's when he struck.

  Before anyone knew it, Dale had moved at exceptional speed, cutting his target. The demon’s waist had been slashed open, like a ripped bag.

  “Gotcha.” Dale smirked, as the demon toppled over. “You guys manipulate your innards to strengthen specific parts of your body. They move so fast that the average person wouldn’t be able to counter them, but with the right amount of speed and precision, the openings in your attacks can be exploited no matter how much you try to hide them. As long as we can strike at your deflated spots while you’re in the middle of attacking, you guys are helpless.”

  To avoid spilling its innards from the hole in its waist, the grey sack forced its innards into its fist, making it incredibly easy for Dale to rip open its waist even further, before it could defend itself.

  The demon toppled over under its own weight. In a fit of desperation, it tried punching at Dale with all its might, but that left its remaining arm vulnerable, allowing Dale to slice it off, leaving even less room for the demon to move its innards.

  With such a large hole in its sack, Dale easily peeled off the rest of its skin, revealing the squirming organs within. The innards spilled out onto the ground reducing the demon to a pile of wriggling organs and muscle with no skeleton nor skin to give it form. One stomp on the exposed brain was all it took to finally kill it.

  Amanda understood what to do, she focused too much on power instead of precision. She transformed her gun into a rifle, a weapon with powerful piercing bullets. The second grey sack dumped all its innards into its foot and threw itself forward, hoping to crush Amanda before she tried anything.

  Its efforts were in vain. From Amanda’s perspective, its body was shielded by its massive hammer foot, except for the flabby skin, flapping on its side. She shot at the wrinkled skin, as the bullet easily pierced through it, after which she dodged to the side to avoid being crushed.

  With its leg punctured the creature was forced to move on its large arms to hide its vulnerable spot. Its limited mobility gave Amanda the perfect chance to fire more bullets into it, hoping to pierce more flesh, but the strength of the grey sack’s innards had not been diminished, bulking up to deflect the bullets.

  Just when the monster seemed confident in its rock-hard defense, Amanda changed her weapon again, this time to an anti-tank machine gun. A weapon so large and heavy it needed its own stand to be used effectively.

  “Hoo boy! I honestly didn’t think that would work! If you’re just gonna sit there, then I’ll gladly blow you away with the best firearms humanity has to offer! You don't seem to have an asshole, so let me tear you some new ones!”

  Amanda fired an immeasurable amount of bullets into the creature. No matter how tough its skin may be, the relentless hailstorm of armour grating gunfire was far too much for it. Small holes started popping all over its body.

  As cathartic as pumping demonic lead into the creature was, Amanda couldn’t keep it up for long. Overusing her gun’s powers was a strain on her own stamina and this was beyond overkill. For her final move, she dropped a bomb of light into her hand.

  The creature was still recovering from the onslaught it endured, but there was nowhere left on its body to safely move its innards. As it desperately searched for a safe spot, Amanda had no problems dropping her light bomb inside one of the holes of its skin and walking away.

  A burst of white light shot out from the hundreds of holes in the demon’s sack, as the creature’s insides were obliterated in a concealed explosion.

  Drifter applauded their efforts, genuinely impressed by their battle, far more entertained than if he had blown them to pieces himself.

  “Still feeling depressed?” He asked Amanda.

  “I couldn’t! If I stayed depressed they would have killed me!”

  “Now you’re getting it.”

  Dale rejoined the group. “Well, that’s two down and one to go…”

  Catherine stood a few feet away, her arms folded trying to keep her cool, hardly containing her anger, like a stroppy teenager.

  “What’s gotten you all pissy?” Drifter mocked.

  “You’re not taking me seriously!” She yelled.

  “Should I?”

  “Yes! I’m Locke’s only friend! His right hand demon! Why aren’t you trying to beat answers out of me!? Am I not demon enough for you!?”

  “Locke will show up whether I fight you or not. This whole confrontation is pointless.”

  “Pointless!? Fight me, you coward!”

  “No.”

  “After everything you did! My home! My grandparents! My life! Now you’re pushing me aside like trash!?”

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  “Here we go again…”

  “I did not spend a whole week fending for myself in that shitty wasteland, just for you to ignore me!

  I was alone. Starved with no water. I thought I was going to die, but I kept pushing on. If I didn’t, if I had just given up and died, I would have never awakened my dormant demonic instincts.

  The monsters I ran and hid from. The demonic powers I kept bottled up inside… I pushed my body’s endurance to its limit, until I couldn’t take anymore! My head pounded from lack of sleep, lack of food, or water.

  I could feel the predators slowly closing in on me, waiting for me to kick the bucket so they could use my remains for whatever twisted desires they had. I could feel them glaring. Hear them breathing. Patiently biding their time, until I collapsed. I couldn’t move. I was exhausted. But, I could still hear them. Hovering over me like vultures.

  I had no strength! No help! I was about to die, all alone! But I refused! Not like this! And then, just as I was about to slip into unconsciousness, something inside me… broke.

  It was like a warrior’s spirit suddenly raged within me. A part of me I neglected my whole life had finally been released and… I killed them.

  I murdered another living creature with my own hands. I slaughtered them all. Ripped them apart. I feasted on their remains, like a ravenous monster, just to save myself. After all these years posing as a human, I could finally become what I was always supposed to be… a demon!

  That’s why, Drifter, I have to fight you! Not just for revenge, but to prove to myself! That I’m a true demon! I need to put my new powers to the ultimate test and- huh?”

  Catherine had gotten so worked up over recounting her experience in the demon world, she hadn’t noticed Drifter and the others had already passed right by her, ignoring her completely.

  “You… FUCKER!”

  Her rage reawakened her savage demonic powers in the form of a blistering red aura, forcing Drifter and the others to finally pay attention to her.

  “I knew we should have just stayed and listened.” Amanda lamented.

  “You guys up for round two?” Drifter asked.

  “Nope. It’s your ass she wants mounted over her wall, you can fight her.”

  “Yeah.” Dale added. “My hand’s still fucked up from that last fight. She’s all yours dude.”

  Drifter, abandoned by his comrades, was left alone with the enraged she-demon. “Aw, shit. What did I do to deserve this?”

  “You ruined my life, you stupid asshole! I went through Hell to get here and you’re still ignoring me!” She stamped her foot into the concrete as the slabs of cement levitated in her aura.

  “No one forced you through all that suffering, Catherine.”

  With a powerful cry she kicked the slab, hurtling it towards Drifter. It flew with such force it caught fire before bursting in Drifter’s face, but it did naught, but dusty Drifter’s coat, which he begrudgingly brushed off.

  “Look. You clearly have some emotional issues to deal with and I get that. But, I’m not your therapist and I don’t care about your sob story. So, either shut up, or go cry to someone else.”

  Infuriated further by his callous comments, she levitated more debris and punched several slabs in Drifter’s direction, but it was all the same. Drifter didn’t even acknowledge them as a threat.

  “Hey, stupid! Are you listening!?”

  Catherine wasn’t sure how much angrier she could get, but she seemed to be breaking new records with each word that came out of the man’s mouth. She darted at Drifter, hoping a fist to the face would finally shut him up. She tore the road up as she barrelled toward him, but her speed and ferocity meant nothing, as Drifter simply slid to the side just before she could connect.

  Losing her balance, Catherine landed on her foot and spun around to quickly block any incoming counterattacks. However, Drifter just stood there, watching.

  “How did he do that?” Catherine pondered. “He didn’t move a muscle, he just slid like he was on ice.”

  She threw a flurry of fists, but Drifter dodged each one, slipping in and out of her attacks.

  “You know, I’m starting to think you’re just using me as a scapegoat.” He commented, sliding out of her range.

  “Shut up and let me hit you!” Catherine replied, charging at Drifter again.

  “I mean, I’m a pretty reckless guy, but I don’t recall ever getting the old farts in that photo of yours killed.”

  “Don’t insult them! And don’t insult me, either! Locke told me the truth! That monster would have never shown up if you hadn’t! It was after your stupid sword! Everyone died because of you! I nearly died because of you! You should have died! Everything’s your fault!”

  Catherine ended her barrage with a final punch, but this time, instead of just dodging, Drifter slid to her side, grabbed Catherine’s outstretched arm and effortlessly tossed her into the fog.

  “See ya.”

  Drifter walked away, as Catherine crashed on her face in embarrassment. She lifted herself from the concrete. She didn’t sustain any real injuries, except to her pride.

  “Why is this happening to me!?” She decried. “I never even cared about being a demon! I just wanted to live a normal human life! I controlled my anger and my powers! I did nothing wrong! But, ever since he showed up, my life’s spiralled out of control! I’m losing myself! I’m becoming a monster!”

  The corpses of the grey sacks started to melt, as the mounds of flesh slithered to her. “Everything’s gone! My life. My family. My humanity. None of it matters anymore!”

  Catherine absorbed the flesh and viscera, melding it into her arms, making them larger and buffer, with clawed fingers. Her own flesh tinged with a scarlet undertone. She rose from her depressed heap, ready for round two.

  “Why are you so weird with her?” Dale asked as Drifter returned.

  “Weird? What?”

  “You usually straight up kill most demons, but that’s the second time you let her get away.”

  “I don’t know. I guess I find her fascinating. I’ve never seen a demon so emotional before.”

  “Emotional?”

  “Yeah… she’s doubting herself, figuring out who she is. It’s just so… human.”

  Like a tomahawk missile, Catherine suddenly rocketed out of the fog with a burning kick, crashing into the back of Drifter’s head and sending him flying across the ground, face first.

  “MAYBE YOU’LL TAKE ME SERIOUSLY WITH A FACE FULL OF DIRT, YOU FUCK!!” She cried at the top of her lungs.

  Dale and Amanda were left stunned. This was the first time they had seen someone effortlessly send Drifter flying that wasn't twice his size. A jarring experience, but not as jarring as Catherine’s sudden change in appearance and composure.

  “What the hell are you looking at, blade boy!?” She chastised. “You want me to kick your ass, too!?”

  “Excuse me?” Dale replied, still in disbelief at what was happening.

  “You heard me!” Catherine suddenly turned her attention to Amanda, her anger making it difficult to concentrate.

  “What are you staring at!? I’ll kick your ass, too! I’ll kick both your asses!”

  Just then, Catherine felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Drifter, already lurking behind her. She immediately swung her massive arm to attack him, but Drifter simply flared up his aura to absorb the blow. However, when the inflamed limb collided with him it didn’t stop. His aura wasn’t strong enough and Drifter was thrown into the fog from the force of the blow.

  “Where’d that shit stain go!?”

  Catherine roared like an animal. She was acting on instinct, not even paying attention to where her target had landed.

  “Shit, did you see that?” Dale uttered.

  “You say something!? I’ll kill you!”

  Catherine stormed over to Dale at an incredible speed, but Dale took advantage of her blind anger, immediately finding an opening to exploit. With her arms raised, Dale ran underneath them, slashing at her side, leaving a bleeding gash.

  “You need to calm the fuck-”

  Before he could finish scolding her, Catherine swiped at Dale’s face with her corrupted arm. He flew across the ground like a ragdoll. Her wound however, was only a scratch, her body had become far more resilient than before.

  “Hey!” Amanda yelled. “Leave him alone, you dumb animal!”

  “I’m not an animal, I’m a demon!” Catherine corrected, enraged.

  Her red aura flared as she roared. This was Amanda’s chance, she pulled out her anti-tank machine gun and unloaded a stream of bullets into the demon. Catherine took it all, most of the bullets evaporating in the intensity of her aura.

  “What in the hell!? That ain’t right!” Amanda cried.

  Catherine barged straight through the storm of bullets until she reached Amanda. With no defence to speak of, Catherine was free to release all her fury on her new punching bag.

  In that second, Amanda had nowhere to run and no way of surviving Catherine’s beastial assault. At that very moment, she seriously believed she was about to die.

  Out of the fog, Drifter’s sword suddenly stabbed straight into Catherine’s abdomen, the pain putting a stop to her frenzied state.

  “Run, you fucking idiot!”

  Stunned by her luck, Amanda heeded Drifter’s advice and got out of there.

  “And you!” He yelled, addressing the rampaging she-demon. “Just because I underestimated you, doesn’t mean you’ve won!”

  Catherine pulled Drifter’s blade out and tossed it aside.

  “You know, most demons risk their lives trying to get that thing.”

  “I don’t want your stupid sword! I want you dead!” She screamed.

  “Well, then. I’d say the score’s even now. Ready for the final round?”

  “Shut! Up! And! Die!”

  Catherine couldn’t care less about Drifter’s showmanship, she had already abandoned all self-control and restraint, his words were like buzzing white noise at this point. Her fiery aura burned an even deeper red as she dashed forward.

  Thrusting her fist outwards she decked Drifter straight in his face, as usual he didn’t budge, but this time, her efforts were rendered useless. She didn’t understand, her power had only been growing this whole time, why did her attack suddenly not work now?

  Just above her fist, she could see Drifter’s eye, looking down on her, whether it was intentionally condescending or not, it still pissed her off. She wasn’t letting him off easy, a single punch was nothing, she pulled back and unleashed a barrage of fists, beating Drifter from every angle she could.

  His body flopped around on the spot, rapidly contorting with each hit and yet, despite the dizzying thrashing he received, once Catherine delivered the final decisive blow, Drifter barely moved, showing no signs of damage.

  Having vented most of her anger through her relentless beating, Catherine was petrified by Drifter’s steadfast resistance.

  “Why… why?”

  She took a step back and noticed his white aura, it wasn’t just a faint glow anymore, but a radiant light surrounding him with a deep burning energy, the depths of which were impossible to quantify.

  “That’s how he moved earlier.” She realised. “He didn’t use his muscles, he used his aura to slide around, like he was on ice. He can use the force of his own energy to propel himself!? With that much precision!?“

  She was at a loss for words, she felt like a kitten picking a fight with a lion. The more she fought, the more impossible victory seemed.

  “How can you have that much power, when you don’t even have your sword?” She questioned in disbelief.

  “Come to your senses yet?” Drifter responded.

  “Shut up! What’s going on!? Why are you so strong without your sword!?”

  “Didn’t you know? The real power was inside me all along.”

  “Don’t bullshit me!”

  Just when she was calming down, Drifter couldn’t resist infuriating her again with his sarcasm. She looked over to the demon sword she threw earlier and made a run for it.

  “If that’s the case, then you won’t mind me taking it!”

  “Go for it.”

  With no interference from Drifter or his companions, Catherine took up the sword and soon felt its power course through her.

  It was breathtaking, finally embracing her demon powers was cathartic enough, but now it felt like her power was being multiplied several times over.

  By wielding the power of this sword, victory was assured, Drifter didn’t stand a chance. Without his weapon, his power was limited, he couldn’t possibly keep up with her for very long. She had all the advantages. At least that’s what Catherine assumed.

  She lowered the blade and charged forth, planning to joust the sword straight through Drifter. His gut, or his chest? It didn’t really matter, just as long as she skewered him with one mighty thrust.

  Her red aura and the sword’s white, mixed into an intense pink burst that launched Catherine towards Drifter, who simply stood still, and waited.

  Then, Drifter got into position. He widened his footing, raised his fists and assumed a fighting stance. By the time Catherine realised he was preparing a counter, it was too late. The instant she got within arm’s length, he suddenly became a blur right before everyone’s eyes. A white streak that pierced through Catherine’s body while she was still in mid charge, with Drifter appearing behind her.

  That single strike killed all of Catherine’s momentum as she stumbled to a halt, paralysed. At first she couldn’t comprehend what happened, but after her senses caught up with her, a powerful force blasted her gut as she coughed up blood and the sword flew out of her hands, lodging itself into the ground.

  Catherine fell to her hands and knees, she was far from dead, but couldn’t move from the pain. Drifter pulled the sword out of the ground and sheathed back into his scabbard.

  “You got that strong after just a week? That’s not bad. Most demons would be dead by now. But, that’s enough, I’m only here for Locke, you can just-”

  Drifter stopped upon witnessing Catherine getting back on her feet, she could barely stand, but she was standing nonetheless. She hobbled over to him and threw a punch at his chest, but it was as light as a feather, even an average human wouldn’t have felt it.

  “Stop it, or you might die.”

  “Then do it. I don’t have much to live for anyway…”

  “Uh… what?” Drifter hadn’t a clue how to properly react, confused by her submissiveness. “You’re not going to lash out at me in a last ditch-revenge kill?”

  “It wouldn’t matter…”

  Drifter could sense it, the raging furnace of energy had burnt out, she had exhausted all her hate. Underneath it all, she wasn’t some murderous monster, but a sad, emotional girl.

  A bright white light broke through the fog, a light Drifter instantly recognised. Locke had finally reappeared.

  “Oh, thank God.” Drifter sighed, pushing Catherine away. “That was getting awkward.”

  The rustling of chains and his single, piercing blue eye were a welcome sight to Drifter, much to Locke’s chagrin.

  “I find your joyous expression unsettling. Please desist.”

  As requested, Drifter returned to his mopey self. “Well, we’re here, Locke. Mind explaining what the fuck is supposed happen next?”

  “This island and the human city at the center of it. In a few moments, it will fall victim to a demon invasion. It’s estimated hundreds of them shall enter the city, wreaking havoc wherever they go. From what I’ve heard, it’ll be like Birmingham all over again.”

  “What!?”

  The mere mention of the Birmingham incident was enough to set Drifter off. He marched over to Locke, desperately wanting to get in his face, but his chains formed a blockade around him, preventing anyone from getting close.

  “What the hell do you know about Birmingham!?”

  “Catherine!” Locke called. “I’m glad you survived your training, but come. You need rest.”

  “No way!” She cried. “I’m not going back there! I… need some time to think, by myself.”

  “If you insist… do what you will here.” The same bright light returned, as Locke escaped into the portal.

  “What!? That’s it!?” Drifter yelled. “You’re just going to show up for two seconds, then fucking disappear again!?”

  “Forget about him, Drifter!” Dale argued. “A literal demon invasion is about to wash over the city!”

  “Fuck that!”

  “But, we can’t just leave them!”

  “Not even the Demon Sword can handle an invasion of that scale. If you want to be the hero who saved the Isle of Wight from a demon invasion then go for it, but I’ve got other priorities.”

  Drifter slashed his sword at the air, reopening Locke’s portal.

  “I’m tracking this cunt down, right now and beating answers out of him! I’ll drag them out, chain by chain, if I have to! I’m not gonna defend this city, I’m gonna make sure no city ever has to suffer the same fate as Birmingham ever again!”

  Drifter leapt through the portal, leaving the rest alone on the bridge.

  The three walked down the long country road, until they eventually reached the outskirts of the Isle’s capitol, Newport.

  “Is she still following us?” Amanda asked.

  “I don’t think she has much of a choice.” Dale answered.

  Catherine trailed behind them, still clutching at her gut. She looked up at the sky and ominously stated:

  “It’s starting.”

  Dale and Amanda looked over to find a massive portal, covering the city’s air space, as small dotted figures started to fall like hail.

  “Fuck.”